Toppling the To-be-read Pile

Bright blessings to sonia, who linked me to drakkinabrarian's excellent essay, "The dreaded TBR pile"

https://drakkinabrarian.wordpress.com/2019/10/28/the-dreaded-tbr-pile

It's just what I needed to read right now.

I’ve been fretting the loss of my bookworm identity. I appreciate the writer’s point that making reading an obligation triggers anxiety. Also, when I developed my bookworm self-image, I didn’t need a TBR — I couldn’t afford to create a personal stack, and I read so fast that the library loans turned over in a week.

Considering drakkinabrarian’s points:

Many of the items on my TBR are things I should be reading. I want to support the author, who’s part of my extended community. I want to want to understand the topic. In short, aspire, not desire. The good news is that I can support writers by buying ebooks and then never reading them.

I decided that I could declare myself "retired" after my 64th birthday. In the time I have left on the planet, it’s okay to focus on fun, not work.

I don’t have infinite resources to dedicate to reading. Pain & meds & double vision & depression do limit what and how long I can read, even with my awesome new reading stand. In my bookworm days, reading provided safety and certainty. While doing something valorized by my family, I could be transported away from them.

This excellent essay concludes:

Remember that a To Read List just represents a list of titles you don’t want to forget – not a binding contract where if you die with these books unread you will be damned for all time.